Joe Root has said sealing a Test series win in South Africa would be the biggest achievement of his England captaincy, adding: “The sky’s the limit for this team.”

England head into the fourth and final Test at the Wanderers on Friday 2-1 ahead following consecutive victories at Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. They have come back after losing the opening Test at Centurion, a match in which the tourists were badly affected by a sickness bug that affected 11 members of the squad and six support staff.

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Given three key players – the opener Rory Burns, Jimmy Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, and the spinner Jack Leach – have also been ruled out through injury or illness, winning the series during a tour even the players at one point had dubbed “cursed” would be a remarkable achievement.

Root’s best results in his first three years as Test captain have been a 3-0 series whitewash in Sri Lanka in late 2018 and a 4-1 home win against India, the world’s No 1 team, the same year. Asked if winning this series would be his biggest achievement, Root said: “I think it probably would be, because of the different things we’ve had to manage throughout this tour.

“We’ve had injuries with senior players having to fly home and a lot of illness to deal with. We have adapted to very different conditions and for a very young group of players to manage that has been very pleasing and a sign we’re doing the right things.

“If we can harness that and keep taking that forward and look to improve as a group then I do think the sky’s the limit for this team. But I do think we’re very much at the start of something and we’re not perfect by any means. We have to keep that attitude and keep driving that forward for a long period if we want to get to No 1 in the world.”

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Root remained coy on team selection for the final Test. No decision has yet been made whether to pair Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in the same attack at a venue which has a reputation for having one of the quickest pitches in the world.

In his first Test appearance for 11 months, Wood took three wickets in Port Elizabeth but it is understood he is unlikely to play back-to-back Tests for the first time since 2015 after feeling some general pain when bowling during practice on Thursday.

England will not take any risks with Wood’s fitness, meaning they are likely to leave him out in favour of Archer, who is now completely recovered from the elbow injury that ruled him out of the past two Tests. Chris Woakes is also set to play his first Test of the series in place of the spinner Dom Bess as England opt for a five-seamer attack.